Pro Product & Commercial Photography + Videography with DJ Watson

Introduction

Hello everyone, first and foremost thank you guys for tuning in! Today we have the pleasure of having DJ Watson. He is a videographer & photographer whom I've known since highschool! He’s here to share some good stuff with us along with his photography story! So let’s go back to the college days, DJ Watson went to Cal State San Bernardino, initially wanting to be a nutritionist then realized marketing was calling him so like many of us in college, changed his major! In the course of his college journey, he randomly bought a camera! (THE camera) At the time DJ explains he didn’t know anything about photography, he watched “Kai W” on youtube who reviewed the camera, from there DJ was photographing all day everyday, and started doing free work, including photos & videos for restaurants. Afterwards his friend offered him an opportunity to work with his agency as a photographer & DJ went for it! Ever since he’s been shooting food for restaurants! I was really interested in knowing his way of approaching restaurants & getting gigs, so I asked him how he goes about that, he just goes up to them & asks, he says “just approaching clients door to door is the best way to get work, feeling the vibe. Showing your work face to face is best” He explains his point of view, stating “you have nothing to lose especially in the beginning” 

The branding - 

I was curious to know how he established his brand, “did it come naturally?” I ask, he thinks it came naturally because he has the ability to see things visually, he tries to replicate shots which is totally okay when it comes to branding, especially when starting out. As far as food photography, he expresses that every restaurant is different with totally different styles, for example he’s done shoots for vintage diners which has a totally different vibe than an LA edgy new restaurant where the shoots feature models, bright lighting, & plants. He says that the best part of food photography for him is getting to eat the food after, YUMM!!!! 

Behind the scenes

Another thing I was curious about was the behind the scenes, what a styled shoot looks like. DJ says “I think it’s fascinating”,he explains how it starts with pre-production, finding the vibe; Flash, dark? His personal favorite is natural light, but if it's a more focused product food shoot, he says they plan ahead of time determining what colors they want to pop out, if it goes better wood background, if they want marble. He does research ahead of time. I ask if it goes by quickly? He says it definitely does but it’s not as stressful as photographing people because you have more control over posing the food BUT you do have a certain time frame because things melt, you have to get the perfect shot. 

Tips for anybody going in that route?

For anyone wanting to go into food photography & building your portfolio, DJ advices to “make your favorite dish, bring a table next to your window, add some kind of backdrop, & shoot away with it, shoot different angles, get different moves, learn lighting first because it's what matters the most, highlight the ingredients, make colors pop, you want to keep in mind to make it look as pretty as possible, no crumbs on the side, a clean plate” I think this was such a great answer because it’s super detailed and while listening to his response I imagined myself setting something up in my own house. He shares his experience about a photoshoot outside and everything went great but there was a fly on the burger in one of the shots, he says always review your work after. I definitely thought this was great great advice especially because there are so many genres of photography.

Videography 

I asked DJ about his videography style, he says “I like doing everything, i like shooting wed